The Black Hornet mini-drone flies unnoticed into buildings and bunkers.
BARDUFOSS This is not science fiction but reality on the Ukrainian frontline. The small dragonfly-looking device flies almost silently. Only when it lands a few meters away is a small whirr heard.
– This is a soldier’s second pair of eyes, an eye in the sky, says the UAV operator of the Norwegian Defense Forces Eirik Staff Yelle in the NATO military exercise in Northern Norway.
At the same time, he turns the joystick as if playing a video game.
The micro-sized drone PD-100 Black Hornet developed in Norway is the world’s smallest unmanned aerial vehicle. With it, you can reach difficult places, buildings, basements and bunkers silently.
– Previously, you had to send a soldier to see if there were enemies inside the buildings. Now that job is handled virtually invisibly by a mini-sized drone, says Staff.
Since last autumn, these small aids have been in real action on the front line of Ukraine. Norway and Great Britain delivered to Ukraine 850 pieces of mini drones (you switch to another service) and their spare parts for almost 10 million euros.
With the help of a minidrone, the Ukrainian armed forces can monitor the movements of Russian troops and prepare for threats.
– I hope that this small remote-controlled drone will help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, says Staff.
With the help of a minidrone, you can reach remote places and it provides information about the situation on the battlefield. It can be used both during the day and at night, as each drone is equipped with three night cameras.
According to Staff, the minidrone is particularly suitable for urban combat due to its agility.
The Black Hornet is controlled using a console. A real-time image appears on the small screen with an encrypted connection. However, the copter does not store data, which is important in case it ends up in enemy hands.
The top speed of the minicopter is about 21 kilometers per hour. The entire system with display devices fits into a small bag and weighs only about a kilo.
The minidrone can fly in a radius of just over two kilometers and the flight time is about 25 minutes.
The Black Hornet mini-drone is in use in many NATO countries. (you switch to another service) In Afghanistan, it has been used for intelligence missions, the implementation of which previously required the life of a soldier to be endangered.
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